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If you won a lottery jackpot of $50 million, would you be a deer in the headlights, stunned by all the zeros added to your net worth?

Would you let your windfall cause problems with family and friends who start treating you differently?

Would you grab the money right away and go into hiding, or would you take time to plan an orderly retreat?

Who would you ask for advice?

Questions like these may be one reason that the winner of last week’s $50-million Lotto Max has yet to claim the prize after the winning ticket was purchased in Langley.

“I assume this winner in Langley is speaking to their financial adviser right now,” B.C. Lottery Corp. spokesman Chris Fairclough said Wednesday.

“For a variety of reasons the winner might not have come forward, whether they are consulting a financial adviser or a lawyer, or letting family members know.”

Whatever the situation, it’s not unheard of for people to tuck winning tickets away while arranging their affairs.

Several years ago, Fairclough said, one man left a ticket in a safety deposit box for 48 weeks before coming to B.C. Lottery Corp. to take possession of his cheque.

Other times, a ticket purchaser leaves the country without paying attention to draw results.

Last year a woman purchased a ticket before embarking on a month-long European vacation, Fairclough said. She didn’t know she was $25 million dollars richer until returning.

The purchaser of last Friday’s winning Lotto Max ticket in Langley — the sixth-largest jackpot in Canadian history — has 52 weeks to claim the prize, before forfeiting $50 million.

Already, with each passing day the amount of interest that could be piling up on this prize is lost forever.

After about a month B.C. Lottery Corp. will calculate potential accrued interest and put out a notification to prod the winner to step forward.

Still, although the $50-million prize would currently be yielding about $2,000 per day, experts say it’s probably not a bad idea to take a few days to get used to the new reality.

“Often when people come into our office and claim their prize, it’s a bit of a deer-in-the-headlights situation,” Fairclough said.

“Anything over about $3.5 million — it’s a shock. The win hasn’t settled in until you see the zeros in the bank.”

Stewart Reid, Western Canada vice-president of sales for BMO Global Asset Management Inc., said the Langley winner will enter the top half per cent of annual income earners in Canada, just by putting the windfall to work.

“I would think it would be a challenge if you go from a comfortable or not-so-comfortable lifestyle, and now you have this big pile of money to sort out,” Reid said.

An adviser would help the winner “build out dreams” and make sure banked capital provided cash flow to support whatever lifestyle he or she chooses.

Last year a BMO adviser helped a $40-million winner in Edmonton put money to work slowly and carefully, over most of a year, Reid said.

According to Reid’s calculations, even at the current “cashable” rate of deposit, the Langley Lotto Max winner would earn $1,712 per day, and $625,000 per year in interest income.

At a higher “locked in” rate the money would earn $1.15 million per year. And with a conservative mutual fund investment, income would rise to about $2 million per year.

Although giant lottery winners quickly move from shock to ecstasy, the burden of money and potential problems with family, friends, and strangers can crash in just as fast.

“Depending on the circumstances existing in the family, there would be many things you would want to set up before taking the prize,” said Edward Bowes, a Vancouver lawyer specializing in divorce and family relations.

“I would think you would probably be looking at investment advice, and how to protect yourself from a lot of unwanted calls and people seeking money. Perhaps you would hire a lawyer to act as a personal representative to put moneys in trust.”

Moe Hedayat of Vancouver’s Optimum Security Inc. said he would advise a winner to fade from the spotlight as quickly as possible.

“I’d relocate and not let anyone know where I live, and then buy a complex home security system, and keep a low profile until the next guy that wins $50 million pops up,” Hedayat said with a laugh.

“There will be some people that try to do funny things when you have money. But I wouldn’t be as worried as someone living in Mexico, South America or the Middle East. I think lottery winners are pretty safe in North America.”

While many would assume that when life’s financial difficulties disappear happiness follows, that isn’t always the case.

The research of Harvard psychology professor Dan Gilbert shows winning a lottery “tends to have a terrible effect on social relationships.”

Considering the case of Ivan — a man from Abbotsford who won a $9.5-million Lotto Max draw in 2010 — Langley’s lottery winner might want to hire a personal trainer and media consultant.

In 2012 Ivan told The Province that after his win, his taste for gourmet food rapidly boosted his weight by 170 pounds. He had weight-limiting surgery and regained balance in his life eventually.

But constant requests for financial assistance from family and perfect strangers are a continuing drag, said Ivan — who has an unlisted number and did not want his last name published.

Ivan also said he wasn’t prepared for photos and interviews at B.C. Lottery Corp. headquarters.

“If I would’ve known all the newspapers would be there,” he said, “I would have never went.”

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Hit the $50M jackpot? Here’s what lottery winners should consider before claiming their prize

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